Errol Holmes
Errol Reginald Thorold Holmes
Born: 21 August 1905, Calcutta (now Kolkata), Bengal, India
Died: 16 August 1960, Marylebone, London
Major Teams: Surrey, Oxford University, England.
Known As: Errol Holmes
Batting Style: Right Hand Bat
Bowling Style: Right Arm Medium, Right Arm Fast
Test Debut: England v West Indies at Bridgetown, 1st Test, 1934/35
Last Test: England v South Africa at Lord's, 2nd Test, 1935
Wisden Cricketer of the Year 1936
Career Statistics:
TESTS
(career)
M I NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct St
Batting & Fielding 5 9 2 114 85* 16.28 0 1 4 0
O M R W Ave BBI 5 10 SR Econ
Bowling 18 4 76 2 38.00 1-10 0 0 54.0 4.22
FIRST-CLASS
(career: 1924 - 1955)
M I NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct St
Batting & Fielding 301 465 51 13598 236 32.84 24 67 192 0
Balls R W Ave BBI 5 10 SR Econ
Bowling 18297 9531 283 33.67 6-16 4 0 64.6 3.12
- Explanations of First-Class and List A status courtesy of the ACS.
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Profile:
Errol Holmes had a somewhat odd cricketing career with three distinct parts.
A fine schoolboy cricketer at Malvern, he had an outstanding University
career with Oxford, but then left the game for seven years due to business
commitments, before returning to first-class cricket to captain Surrey. He
retired in 1938, but was pressed to return to the Surrey captaincy after the
war, and played two further seasons in 1947 and 1948. At his best he was an
exciting attacking bat and a tearaway fast bowler. As a bat, he loved to
take the attack to the bowler, refusing to get tied down. He favoured the
off-side,
driving with a full sweep of the bat, and forcing through the covers off the
back foot. He was adept at placing the ball on the on-side, especially off
the front foot. In his younger days he could bowl genuinely quick for brief
periods, but slowed to fast-medium, and was a useful change bowler. He was
an excellent and well-liked captain of Surrey, always looking to keep the
game entertaining and scrupulously fair. He made every effort to keep the
game enjoyable for players and spectators alike, and unlike his predecessor
at Surrey (Jardine), frowned on the use of the short-pitched delivery.
Born in Calcutta, he arrived at Oxford after averaging over 60 during his
schoolboy career at Malvern. He played for the University for four years,
also earning a football Blue. During this time he made his highest
first-class score, 236 against Free Foresters, and captained the University
in his final year. His final innings for Oxford in the University match at
Lord's was a thrilling century as his side chased a big fourth innings
total.
He had played just once for Surrey in 1924, and briefly in 1926 (playing in
the match in which Hobbs beat Grace's century record) but after Jardine gave
up the Surrey captaincy, he was persuaded to return to lead them in 1934.
Seven years out of top-class cricket appeared to do little harm to his
batting, and after a successful season he was picked to tour the West Indies
as vice-captain. He made a duck in his first Test innings on a fearsome
sticky-wicket in Barbados, but made 85* batting at number eight in the
Second Test, deprived of a Test century as he ran out of partners. He failed
in the other two Tests, and when selected to play against South Africa in
1935 made only 10 and 8. He led a team to New Zealand to play
"unofficial Tests" in 1935-26. A fine county season in 1936 earned him a
place in the party to tour Australia, but he had to withdraw due to business
commitments - he played no further Tests.
After retirement he served on both the Surrey and MCC committees, and took
considerable delight in seeing Surrey dominate the county championship in
the 1950s. Holmes wrote of his own batting: "Whatever success I had can, I
think, be attributed to my natural desire to hit the ball" (DL 2001).
Last Updated: Saturday, 17-Aug-2002 07:37:48 GMT
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